HCL:Technical Analysis

Se7en(Fincher,1995)

Shot:Long Shot and is Establishing Shot
Duration:8 Seconds
Mise en scene:Shows a man lying down in his bed with the lamp light on

Shot:Close up at a low angle shot
Duration:6 Seconds
Mise en scene:Man puts his glasses on the desk and flicks what looks like an old fashioned clock

Shot:Long Shot zooming to character in mid shot
Duration:10 Seconds
Mise en scene:Man is still lying in bed awake whilst clock is ticking- builds more tension

Shot:Mid Shot zooming into Close up
Duration:4 Seconds
Mise en scene:Shot of clock ticking again but this time is much more apparent

Shot:Mid Shot zooming into Close up
Duration:5 Seconds
Mise en scene:Man is sleeping whilst tossling his head , noise of talking in the backhground, the preferred reading of this is that the man is having a dream/nightmare

Shot:Close up zooming into Extreme Close up
Duration:6 Seconds
Mise en scene:Clock is still ticking and there is still the sound of people talking in the background further reinforces the fact that the man is having a dream/nightmare

Transition: Fade to Black
Duration:2 Seconds
What does it tell us?: That we are viewing the film from the characters dream/nightmare
Mise en scene:Sound of thunder & lightening continues through the transition

Shot:Extreme Close up
Duration:5 Seconds
Mise en scene:Book with hand out of focus in the background turning the pages of the book

Shot:Extreme Close up at Eye Line shot
Duration:2 Seconds
Mise en scene:What appears to be a man with badly conditioned fingers is cutting his nails with a razor cutter

• From 0:48-2:56 there is a very fast cutting rate used and is shown as a montage of events and actions, not everything seems clear and certain shots and images are distorted and doesnt give the audience a clear image of whats going on
• After every 2 seconds of a few montages the titles of the film appear with a fade to black transition to add continuity, this also enables the producer to be able to use a matched cut and show a few montage shots from a different location
• All the montage shots are shot in Close Up to add emphasis to the particular image for example 1:38-1:40 the close up of the closing page added with slow motion empahsises this shot
• From 2:03-2:05 split screen editing is used, with a contrast of colours, red dark colour juxtaposed with the light white colour of paper in the bottom screen

Shot:Long shot of city buildings
Duration:4 seconds
Mise en Scene: Shot of city with title saying 'Monday'

Shot:Mid Shot of couple sleeping Still shot
Duration:19 seconds
Mise en scene:Couple are sleeping with the man rubbing his hand over the woman's shoulder, he checks his watch and then gets out of bed whilst leaving the woman sleeping

How many layers of sound are there? How does it help establish an enigma / create dramatic tension?

• During the course of the clip when the dream/nightmare is occuring there are two layers of sound
• There is the soundtrack playing which creates an eerrie mood, the soundtrack and is also at quite a fast tempo which reinforces the fact that the movie is a thriller
• There is also non-digetic sound of pens scratching which are made more apparent to emphasize the action

What have you learnt from this technical analysis?

• I have learnt how techniques such as montage editing and fast cutting rates can disorientate visuals on the screen but in a way that still immerses the audience
• I have also learnt how effective the use of a soundtrack or beat is to deliver to the audience what mood you (the producer) is trying to convey